Us
by threwthelookinglass
Summary: A series of connected one-shots focusing on the growing relationship between Gale Hawthorne and Madge Undersee leading up to the 74th Annual Hunger Games. AU


**Disclaimer**: I do not own _The Hunger Games, _obviously.

_**AN: This is the first of a series of connected one-shots focusing on the Gale/Madge relationship and romance before the 74**__**th**__** Annual Hunger Games. This is my first Hunger Games fanfic so I would really appreciate your reviews. Thanks and enjoy! **_

_Pretty Girl_

It's the day of the memorial, exactly one week since the accident, and Gale Hawthorne just wants the damn mayor to shut the hell up.

He doesn't remember much of the past week, just a blur of emotions. He remembers the disbelief when he was told that his father would never come home again. He remembers the sadness he felt at watching his mother collapse into inconsolable sobs while he held his young, weeping brothers. And he remembers how hopeless he felt when he realized that the weight of his family's survival now rested on his fourteen year old shoulders. Since that realization, he's been numb. He has to stay strong for his mother, whom he knows is barely hanging on by a thread.

It's been exactly one week since the explosion that shattered his world and the last thing he wants to do is sit through the mayor's standard speech about how brave those men were, and how their families should be proud of the hard work they died for. He becomes angry at the mayors words. He doesn't think that this man has any right to comment on the work that these men were forced into, work that he'll never know. He'll never have to come home with his skin and clothes covered in black coal dust, coughing up the remnants that made their way into his lungs. He'll never have to wonder if he'll make it back home alive. The last thought causes Gale to sneer as he shakes his head at the mayor's words.

However, a sudden flash of gold interrupts his thoughts. He shifts his attention to somewhere to his right, and suddenly everything stops. All sounds fade away to nothing: his mother's soft sobs, his brothers' fidgeting feet, even the mayor's pointless speech. He hears nothing except his racing pulse pounding in his ears, and the only sight he is able to focus on is the flowing golden hair on the head of the prettiest girl he's ever seen.

He's certain that he's never seen her before. A face like hers would be impossible to forget. Judging by her small stature she's younger than he is, but not by much; one or two years at the most. Her pretty face is small and delicate and…soft looking, and he suddenly wishes that he could walk over to get a closer look at what he knows is smooth and flawless skin.

Her attention isn't directed towards the mayor like most of the crowd. Instead, her gaze is intently focused on the ground. He is happy that she is so preoccupied for it gives him a few more moments to study the unfamiliar girl. Her golden hair falls past her thin shoulders with the pieces surrounding her face pulled back by two pins. She is wearing a plain, dark blue dress that looks new and expensive with a pair of shiny black buckled shoes. A pair of soft, black gloves covers her small, clasped hands. A slight, lovely woman who is obviously the girl's mother stands directly behind her with one hand resting on the girl's shoulder.

His eyes return to her face and he momentarily loses the ability to breathe as he finds himself staring into a pair of clear, blue eyes. Again, he wishes he were closer so that could learn the exact shade of those beautiful eyes. He's vaguely aware of the fact that he has just been caught staring, but he can't bring himself to care as he continues to lose himself in the deep blue. She surprises him when she doesn't immediately turn away after catching him ogling her. They both let the stare linger for a few long seconds more before she directs attention to the small stage with a slight blush covering her pale cheeks. Gale can't remember seeing anything more beautiful.

It occurs to him that this is the time to look away so as not to get caught staring a second time, but he doesn't want this moment to end. He knows he'll feel guilty about it later, but this is the first time in a week that he has felt any feeling that isn't complete sorrow. He's standing there at his dead father's memorial and for one single moment he is able to pretend that his world isn't falling down around him. He owes this special feeling to a girl whom he has never even seen or noticed before this moment.

He is finally able to will his gaze away from the pretty girl and back to the mayor just in time to hear the closing of his speech. He allows himself a sigh of relief, but his hopes are dashed when he remembers that all of the families of the fallen miners have to stay so that the mayor may come around and offer his condolences. This thought brings back the previous feelings of anger because he knows that not one person standing in the square gives a shit about any false sentiments of pity coming from that man. The last thing they want or need is the richest and most powerful man in the District reminding them that they no longer have a reliable source of income to feed their already hungry families. He sure as hell doesn't.

He briefly glances back to the spot where the girl had been standing only to find it empty. His eyes search through the small gathering for the golden mane that captured his attention only a few minutes ago. When he finds her again, he feels his heart fall into his stomach and he is overcome with a sick feeling. He feels stupid for not realizing it sooner. The blonde hair should've been his first clue but it was just so damn shiny that he didn't think to make the connection. Her nice, expensive clothes and elegant mother, however, should've given her away.

Not only is this mystery girl from town, but she's also the mayor's daughter. A frown overcomes his features as he follows the girl's movements.

He watches her as she follows her father down the line of families, bobbing her head at the mourners as a sign of sympathy, but unlike her father and the stiff woman at her side, her face shows her sincerity in the sentiment and he hates her for it. He doesn't want her to be nice or genuine. He wants her to be stuck up and superficial so that he has a reason to forget her and erase this sick feeling that has formed into a knot in the pit of his stomach.

His family isn't far down the line so before he knows it the mayor is shaking his mother's hand and offering her his deepest sympathies. She thanks him with a slightly shaking voice as the mayor's wife gives her a stiff nod of the head. His hard glare never leaves the girl's face, but she has yet to acknowledge his presence. It bothers him that she's about a million times more beautiful up close. Her skin and hair look silky soft, and her compassion filled eyes are the exact shade of the night sky right as the sun finishes setting. The girl nods at his mother and she continues to follow her parents towards the next family, but before does, she stops directly in front of him. Her movements momentarily startle him but he doesn't let the scowl fall from his features. She meets his eyes, undisturbed by his cold stare, and offers him a few, short words.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Her voice is clear and sweet, and he feels the glare slide off his face. He opens his mouth to thank her, but the words are stuck in his throat. Instead, he responds with a short nod. She gives him one last sad glance before catching up with the mayor and his wife.

The next time he sees the pretty girl is on the first day of the new school year. It's her first day at the secondary school for children over the age of twelve, making her two years younger than he is. She's just as beautiful as she was that day all those months ago, but instead of the warm feeling her image gave him the last time he laid eyes on her, he only feels anger now. He's angry because she's the mayor's daughter and he's a starving boy from the Seam and she's just one more thing that he isn't allowed to want.

He doesn't know her, but he hates her. He makes up stories in his head about how she's a mean, stuck up, snob who spends her nights in her mansion playing dress up with all of the fancy clothes her daddy brings back from the Capitol. It takes awhile, but he is eventually able to convince himself that his stories are true, and so it becomes easier to ignore her existence. Easier, but never easy.

Every once in awhile he'll see a flash of golden hair in the gray halls and before he can stop himself he'll begin searching for those deep pools of blue that took his breath away.

_**Should I continue? Review! **_


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